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More state funds are spent per inmate than college student

Louisiana spends thousands of dollars more in public funding on inmates than it does on full-time college students, which some officials say reflects the state's priorities. And they say it's time for a change.

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Louisiana spends thousands of dollars more in public funding on inmates than it does on full-time college students, which some officials say reflects the state's priorities. And they say it's time for a change.

Of course, the costs of caring for inmates are higher. They're fed, housed, clothed and attended to medically around the clock.

Most universities offer similar services with dining halls and medical clinics on campus, but those often are student fee-driven. State funds for higher ed primarily go toward salaries, classroom materials, deferred maintenance and other such issues.

But the difference in spending on the two state institutions is stark, as is the difference in the number of people in both groups.

A much smaller pool of money — $254.6 million less — is distributed across nearly 130,000 more full-time college students at state universities than inmates in state prisons. There are more than 42,000 adult and youth offenders versus more than 168,000 people in Louisiana pursuing a degree full-time.

State Rep. Terry Landry Sr., D-New Iberia, said the fact "it costs more to incarcerate than educate" is no secret, especially in a state with the highest incarceration rate per capita in the U.S.

"This is not some revelation that is popping up all of a sudden," Landry said. "What is happening now is other agencies, like education and health care, because of our budget situation are seeing these cuts, and people are raising the alarm that we are housing all these inmates and we can't get a quality education."

Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education Joseph Rallo has spent the last year speaking around the state with a presentation challenging legislators to align funds with priorities.

Jimmy Sawtelle (left), chancellor of Central Louisiana Technical Community College and Roy O. Martin III, (far right) a member of the Louisiana State Board of Regents, talk with Joseph Rallo, Louisiana's commissioner of higher education, at a public forum in Alexandria last year.(Photo: Melinda Martinez/The Town Talk, Melinda Martinez/The Town Talk)

"It's not my role to tell legislators what their priorities are, but they always say higher education is a top priority," Rallo said in an interview Thursday.

Through the presentation, he asks, "Where is public funding better spent?" and "Are the state's funding priorities in line with its growth priorities?"

During a tour stop this month in north Louisiana, Rallo used data from the state Department of Administration and the Board of Regents to show that $732.4 million is spent on adult and youth offenders in Louisiana and $477.8 million is spent on state colleges and universities.

For fiscal year 2016-17, state general funds appropriated to corrections and housing for those offenders totaled $623,652,332. Divide that by the 36,280 adult offenders, and that's about $17,190 spent per person.

That figure is about the same for youth offenders.

Louisiana Rep. Terry Landry (D-New Iberia) is part of a state task force that is looking at ways to reform the state's criminal justice system.(Photo: The Advertiser file photo)

The state spends $108,788,843 on 6,321 juvenile offenders, including those in community-based programs and on probation or parole. That comes out to about $17,210 spent per person, according to the Department of Administration's 2016-17 state budget and Department of Corrections and Office of Juvenile Justice population statistics. That includes costs of youth community-based programs and parole and probation programs for juveniles.

When it comes to college, the state appropriated $477,845,589 for the last fiscal year.

That goes to 168,647 full-time students, which is $2,833 a person, according to Board of Regents budget documents and the board's most recent Higher Education State Fact Book from 2015-16.

There are other financial burdens on top of years of budget cuts to Louisiana higher education, Rallo points out.

State-mandated costs to higher ed send 66 cents of every state dollar universities receive back to the state.

In 2008-09, higher education in Louisiana received nearly $1.6 billion in state funds. Eight years later that figure is about $852 million — about half — and mandated costs are up $120 million over that same period.

Mandated costs like pensions and healthcare are no longer covered by the state. They're the schools' responsibility now.

So, to answer Rallo's own question of whether legislators are making higher education a priority, he says, "We don't think they are."

Landry said the difference has to come in reforming how Louisiana sentences offenders, which would free up funding for other areas like higher education.

He is part of a group looking at ways to do just that, among other things to improve the state's criminal justice system.

The Louisiana Justice Reinvestment Task Force was created a year ago and has met as recently as last week, he said.

The group has divided into subcommittees that will meet before the next legislative session to come up with recommendations for possible legislation that would deal with only non-violent, non-sexual offenders.

"The struggle is to break some of the antiquated sentencing laws on this state," Landry said. "... This is a critical and important task force, and I'm very, very optimistic we'll have positive legislation to address mass incarceration, which has an impact on our budget.

"And that will allow (the state) to save money and use it in appropriate places."

But his fellow state rep, Nancy Landry, R-Lafayette, argues more can be done in higher education, as well. While recognizing that there have been budget cuts, she added that some of the highest salaries in higher ed haven't seen much change. That's a possible "efficiency" to look into, she said.

"It's not just a matter of more money, more money, more money," she said. "Let's spend wisely and put the focus on the children, on the students, and make sure we're getting the best return on investment."

"It's more than just a money problem," she continued. "We need to focus our efforts on the needs for the students, not the adults."

Rallo would like to see more funds go toward state colleges and universities, an impact that would go beyond the education sector, he said.

"Public higher education is a value beyond just the individual student," Rallo said. "It's a value to the community they go back to — they get a job, pay taxes but they also add vibrancy (through civic involvement)."

Plus, a community's level of education affects whether or not the area can attract business and industry.

"The first question they (potential businesses) ask is 'Will I have the workforce — (with) four-year and two-year degrees — that I'll need?'" Rallo said. "And increasingly we're not able to produce those."

And "businesses don't come here for our incarceration rates," he said — all the more reason to invest more state dollars in education.

"We believe in investing in education and its economic benefits, compared to a sector that doesn't give back," he said, referring to the incarcerated population.

This is a case he makes to education and state government officials, civic organizations and community leaders he meets with across Louisiana, something he's done since coming to the state as commissioner two years ago.

"I've been here almost two years, and unfortunately the figures (in my slides) haven't changed so much," he said.

And he hopes legislators keep this in mind as they enter a new session and make decisions that show whether or not higher education is an investment for this state.

"If this state chooses not to do that it will see economic problems and social problems," Rallo said. "We see investing in higher education as investing in the future of Louisiana."

Terry Landry seems to agree.

He's optimistic the task force will come up with recommendations that would produce change. His hope now is that fellow legislators would have the "political courage" to move forward with them.

It's a timely discussion as higher education braces itself for yet another cut before the end of the year, expected to be a reduction of 2 to 7 percent, Rallo said.